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John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 - May 29, 1989) was a lead guitarist best known for his work with the San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. He pronounced his surname with the Italian "C" (Chipollina).

Born in Berkeley, California, he attended Tamalpais High School, in Mill Valley, California (as did his brother, Mario Cipollina). He showed great promise as a classical pianist in his youth, but soon switched to the guitar as his primary instrument. Cipollina had a unique guitar sound, mixing solid state and valve amplifiers as early as 1965. He is considered one of the fathers of the San Francisco psychedelic rock sound.

Throughout his career, Cipollina usually played Gibson SGs, but in the late '70s and into the '80s could also be seen playing a Carvin DC150, which was similar to a double-cutaway Les Paul, but with more modern factory installed electronics. He played with finger picks, thumb picks, and used a whammy bar extensively which, he explained to Jerry Garcia, was to make up for his weak left (tremolo) hand. Even more unusually, he attached six wurlitzer horns to the top of his distinctive amplifier stack.

His style was highly melodic and expressive. Cipollina's classical past no doubt influenced his guitar style, which was miles beyond the usual blues-scale, pentatonic work of many of the other psychedelic-era guitarists. His work on fellow dueling guitarist Gary Duncan's electric arrangement/adaption of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", retitled "Gold and Silver," which appears on the self-titled first album of Quicksilver, is an excellent example of how Cipollina took rock to places it usually didn't dare to venture.

Cipollina died on 29 May 1989 at the age of 45 from chronic emphysema. Quicksilver Messenger Service fans paid tribute to him the following month in San Francisco at an all-star concert at the Fillmore Auditorium which featured Nicky Hopkins, David Freiberg, and John's brother Mario, an original member of Huey Lewis and the News.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 32nd of the greatest guitarists of all time.


KSAN DEMOS 1967-1971, uncirculated version.

01. TERRY & THE PIRATES - INLAWS & OUTLAWS (demo take 1)
02. TERRY & THE PIRATES - INLAWS & OUTLAWS featuring NICKY HOPKINS (demo take 2)
03. TERRY DOLAN - DOG MOUNTAIN BLUES (demo version)
04. RON NAGLE W/MICK WALLER, DAVID JENKINS & PETE SEARS - FRANCINE
05. RON NAGLE & JOHN CIPOLLINA - BERBELANG
06. BRUCE STEVENS (BLUE CHEER) - HOLE IN MY SOUL
07. BRUCE STEVENS - DOPE AND MONEY
08. LOOSE GRAVEL - STYROFOAM (demo short version)
09. LOOSE GRAVEL - BAGOFAIR (demo)
10. SOUNDHOLE with JOHN CIPOLLINA - CHINATOWN
11. SOUNDHOLE with JOHN CIPOLLINA - THE WAY THAT YOU ARE
12. SOUNDHOLE with JOHN CIPOLLINA - NIGHT AFTER NIGHT
13. RON NAGLE & THE FAST BUCKS - 61 CLAY (demo version)